


Aged Innocence

by CrystalHopeDragon



Series: Days with Danny [5]
Category: Casper, Danny Phantom
Genre: Gen, How could I resist?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-30
Updated: 2016-04-30
Packaged: 2018-06-05 09:37:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6699724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrystalHopeDragon/pseuds/CrystalHopeDragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dani had brought home a ghost, one unlike the others they had met. She had brought him to make friends, but he did more than that. His existence alone made him some new friends - and a million questions for those new friends to find answers for. After all, what's more interesting than an ancient innocent ghost? </p><p>(Long story short, Casper meets Danny Phanom.)</p><p>Warning: Jazz Fenton goes into a Ghost Psychology and Physiology lecture. You have been warned. </p><p>......This is how I express my theories on the show.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Aged Innocence

Danielle had called a meeting. That in itself was worrying. 

Dani was only ever home once a month. She normally stayed for about a week -just long enough to spend time with Danny, her girlfriend (that they couldn't talk her out of, danger or not), and Youngblood and her other friends. She usually came home with lots of stories, a few bruises, a couple souvenirs, and her ravenous appetite. That was usually all she had when she returned though. This time was the exception.

The moment she entered the room, Danny's ghost sense went off. Even though she was in her ghost form, he had a feeling it wasn't because of her.

"Everyone, this is Casper." She said before moving aside to show a small, sheepishly waving ghost child. 

"Um, hi, nice to meet you all." They were all a bit stunned, though not because he was a ghost.

Jazz recovered first. "It's nice to meet you too. You seem friendly, it's a nice change of pace for us." Ever the psychologist, she used her words to subtly encourage him to depart with personal information.

"Well, it is my obsession." He said with a bright smile.

"Making friends?" Sam said with a grimace, thinking of the OTHER ghost they knew with a similar obsession

"And being friendly, yes."

"Where did you and Dani meet?" Tucker asked, curious as to where the kid even came from.

"I found him wandering around Chicago trying to make friends. People kept running instead. Humans don't react to ghosts anywhere else quite the way they do in Amity Park, so I brought him back here. I thought he might have better luck." Dani said with a sad smile. 

"What happened to your form?" Danny asked the question they were all thinking, but no one else had the nerve to.

'Forever the embodiment of tact', his sister thought sarcastically.

"What do you mean?" Casper asked, confused.

"What my brother is not so subtly asking is why you are lacking most of your physical features. Hair, eye color, body shape. Though I have a different question: how much of your past life can you remember?" Jazz asked, trying to calmly redirect the conversation. Chances are the kid doesn't know exactly why he is different from the other ghosts. She had an idea though.

"I don't really know why I don't have those features. As for my past life, I...can't really remember having one. I mean, I know I had to. After all, I am a ghost, so I had to of died at some point, right? But it was a really long time ago, and I can't really remember what being alive was like." Casper said with a frown. Dani was the first friend he had been able to make in years. No one had ever asked him about this stuff, and he hadn't thought about it in so long he forgot the answers. He hadn't even wandered across his uncles in a decade or so.

"About how long can you remember being dead?" Sam asked, her distaste for his obsession being overridden by her own morbid curiosity.

"I don't know, a century or two? I haven't really been keeping track of time." Casper said, trying to think back. There weren't any cars or anything when he first died, no lights either. He couldn't really remember what year he died in though. 

Jazz sighed. "More like three."

"Huh?" Everyone looked at her, confused.

"I've been studying the psychological states of ghosts recently." She admitted, sheepishly. "I've noticed that their physical form is reliant on their mental state, and that the older they get the less human they become. Ember died less than 30 years ago, and is one of the more human in appearance. While Skulker -who died well over two centuries ago- can't remember his human form at all, and has manufactured a new one out of current technology. The only exception is with ghosts who have been in a state of hibernation-and therefore haven't changed at all- or ghosts like Dorothea and her kingdom. They have been living in such a constant reminder of their life during their death that they can't forget it. For Casper here to have absolutely no recollection of his previous form, he has to be well over two centuries old, and have had next to no reminders of who he used to be in all that time." 

They were speechless. 

"How do you even KNOW all that?" Danny questioned, astonished.

"I ASKED, duh. You'd be surprised how much they'll tell you if you just ask them something calmly. Plus, none of them really have a grudge against me." Jazz added with a grin.

"O hah hah." Danny laughed humorlessly back.

"Unfortunately, Casper does leave me with a problem in my theory. Through my study of the ghosts mental state, I paid particular attention to their aura colors and it's correlation to their obsession. The more violent a ghosts obsession, the more green their aura is. And as their aura distorts their color scheme in mirrors -making their hair, eye, and skin color seem tinted the color of their aura- their auras color slowly imprints into their mind as their own natural color. This is why Youngblood -who remembers having blue eyes and blond hair- now has green eyes and hair. He's seen his color scheme that way in the mirror so much that he unintentionally made it his real coloring.

Skulker's hunting obsession has left him with a solid green appearance. Even Youngblood -who's obsession isn't just fun and childhood but is also anti-adulthood- has a solid green color scheme to match his more malevolent nature. Which has been improving recently, but still. Ghosts with non-violent obsessions -but who will turn violent to appease their obsession- usually have a blue aura, such as Ember and the Box Ghost. Neither of their obsessions are violent by nature, but if someone tries to interfere with their desires they will turn violent to reach their personal satisfaction. The older the ghost, the more likely they are to have changed to a blue or even green color scheme. Which is why Casper is a surprising exception. He's still white, a color reserved for the youngest and purest of ghosts." Backing out of lecture mode, Jazz finally directed her full attention back to Casper. "How did you stay so innocent even with the world denying you your obsession at every turn for HUNDREDS of years?"

Casper was still dazed from the overly complicated speech. Still, he tried to gather his thoughts and respond. "I...don't really know. I guess I just kept looking. I mean, I knew why they ran. I'm a ghost, it can be scary; so I never really blamed them. I just kept looking for someone it wouldn't scare, and took joy in every time I found one. My uncles found a passion -obsession, whatever- in scaring people, so most don't trust ghosts anymore. I just kept looking for people that could see past the stereotype that created." He said, looking down shyly.

Everyone else was still boggled by Jazz's speech, but this new information was just as jarring.

"So wait, let me get this straight." Sam says, staring at him. "Your UNCLES single handily created the 'Boo! Spooky ghost!' tradition?" 

Casper shrugged. "More or less. There are a few other ghosts I've met with similar obsessions, most of them white with a blue aura like my uncles. All of us are so old we're formless though, or at least that's what I think Jazz just said it means." 

"Yes, you applied the theory properly." Jazz said proudly, her own shocked response overridden by her desire for information.

"So what exactly can we do for you anyway? Why did Dani bring you here specifically, and not just to Amity Park? You seem more than capable of making friends on your own in this more...ghost friendly environment." Tucker asks, staring back and forth between the two ghosts.

"I was hoping we could find him a place to live. He's used to having a human house to stay in, not just a ghost realm. He's never stayed in the Ghost Zone for long." 

"There was a really bad king in charge when I first died. I didn't want to deal with him, so I came back to the human world. That's why most of us from that group are here, actually. It's how I met my uncles." He said with a grimace, thinking back to the previous Ghost King. Unbeknownst to him, that statement solidified his age in their minds. The Ghost King had been dethroned for centuries, after all. 

"He can stay with me." Sam said after a minute. "My house is huge, and if we're careful I'm sure my folks won't notice. Gramms would love the company, too." She said with a grin.

Both of the ghosts in front of her gave her a big grin. "Thank you thank you thank you!" Dani screamed, flying into Sam's chest. Sam held her ground, but let out a slight 'oomph' before hugging the young ghost back.

"You're welcome. Now come on kid, let's get you settled." Sam said, motioning to the ghost as she headed out. 

Danny just smiled and shook his head. Looks like their little ghostly family is still expanding. For now though, he was getting a snack and some sleep. After all that, he had a headache.


End file.
